Toy hoop guide and propelling device



Oct. 6, 1970 B. T. POOLE 3,531,389 I TOY HOOP GUIDE AND PROPELLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 21, 1968 FIG.I

5 Brantley T. Pool e INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,531,889 TOY HOOP GUIDE AND PROPELLING DEVICE Brantley T. Poole, 1809 Arlington St., Raleigh, N.C. 27608 Filed Feb. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 707,141 Int. Cl. A63h 33/02 US. Cl. 46-220 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The play hoop guide and propelling device has an elongated shaft provided at one end with a handle section and at the other a hoop engaging section positioned at an acute angle thereto, the latter including a hoop engaging part having normal driving or propelling surfaces at an acute angle to planes perpendicular to the center line of the handle section in the direction towards said handle section. The acute angle between the shaft and the hoop engaging section being of the order of 30, range 20 to 40 inclusive. The acute angle of the driving surfaces being of the order of 3, for example 3 /2 range 2 to inclusive. The hoop engaging section is advantageously connected to the shaft by way of an off-set mounting and the handle section made larger than the opposite end of the shaft.

This invention relates to an improved guide stick for propelling a play hoop at very high speeds with excellent control.

By Way of summary, the subject of the invention is a play hoop guide including an elongated shaft provided at one end with a hoop engaging section positioned at an acute angle thereto, the latter including a hoop engaging part having normal propelling or driving surfaces at an acute angle to planes perpendicular to the center line of the handle section in the direction of said handle section.

The primary object of the invention is the construction of a hoop guide capable of propelling a play hoop more or less directly in front of the operator and at speeds hitherto unattainable, speeds nearly equal to the maximum traveling speed of the operator.

Another object of the invention is the formation of a guide which is simple in construction yet provides a direct, instant control over and ready acceleration of the rolling hoop. It is a device which by reason of its particular construction alone gives the operator a feeling of complete control over the hoop even when first used. It permits the operator to move forward at full speed without a tendency for the hoop to spin to the side or to get out of control by reason of imperfections in the rolling surface, the roadway, lawn, field, sidewalk, etc.

Another object of the invention is the construction of a guide which can be used by the novice or a person having relatively poor coordination to compel the hoop to perform in an exciting and pleasing manner while at the same time to provide near perfection of operation when employed by an expert.

These several aims and objects are accomplished by the novel construction hereinafter described and shown in the drawing and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the guide in approximately the vertical angle at which it would be held when in use,

FIG. 2 is a plan view looking down on the guide in the direction 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a modified structure of the lower end of the guide,

FIG. 4 is a modified construction in which the lower end hoop engaging section is slightly offset from the shaft section,

3,531,889 Patented Oct. 6, 1970 FIG. 5 is a modified construction in which the guide is altered for a left-hand operator, and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of the mode of applying the driving force of the hoop guide of this invention.

In FIG. 1 element 1 is a handle section of any convenient, conventional design, the form shown includes grooves 3. Element 4 is the elongated shaft section and a hoop engaging section is comprised of legs 5 and 7 connected through a hoop contact and propelling or driving leg 6, note FIG. 2 for clear illustration of legs 5 and 6. The entire guide is preferably constructed of one integral piece of material, detachable portions such as the handle may, however, be provided for obvious conventional reasons or purposes. The important consideration here is that the particular arrangement of parts lends itself to the construction of a single, unitary device. All sections of the guide may be made of the same material, preferably of any heavy material with sufiicient rigidity to prevent whip action but resilient enough to withstand accidental blows. Ordinary structural steels or heavy plastic compositions are suitable.

Referring again to FIG. 1, it is seen that the hoop engaging end section is at an acute angle, a, to the shaft section of the guide, that is the center line of the shaft section is at an acute angle to the center line of the hoop engaging end section, the latter being aligned in a plane, very nearly parallel to the plane of the path of travel of the hoop when in use. As an example, this acute angle, a, is 30, however, a considerable range of degrees is permissible, any degree of the order of 30. A range of from 20 to 40 inclusive is suggested. The necessity of an acute angle for this section is to provide that the contacting leg 6 will align itself approximately in a plane parallel to the rolling surface and will direct the driving force at such an angle as not to tend to unduly lift the hoop. Although there is some lifting action, the hoop is mainly propelled with a direct forward driving force. The force is exerted by way of lever action, each successive area on the rolling surface acting as a fulcrum.

FIG. 2 illustrates how the shaft section 4 is inclined at a small acute angle, 12, to the forward direction, arrow 8, when the guide is in use. Legs 5 and 7 of the hoop engaging section are substantially parallel and extend in approximately the direction, arrow 8, of travel. In other words, legs 5 and 7 are constructed so that their center lines are at an acute angle, b, to the center line of the shaft section. The connecting leg 6 presents a surface, the planes of which are at a small acute angle, c, to planes passing through the center line of the handle section of the shaft as illustrated in this figure. Angles b and c are about the same, that is of the order of 3, as an example 3%. and a range of 2 to 10 inclusive. It is seen in FIG. 2 that acute angle 0, is an angle formed by rotation from said perpendicular planes towards the handle section of the guide.

It is readily apparent that by reason of this angular relationship that although the operator holds the guide in the hand to the side of his body the thrust by his arm of the guide shaft directs the propelling force substantially directly in front of him. The shaft of the guide is thrust to the left from the right side of the operator while the contacting guide section operates straight forward. As shown in FIG. 5, the shaft is inclined towards the right from the left side of a left-hand operator. However, in every case, the contacting guide section moves forward in the same direct manner.

FIG. 3 illustrates a modified form of the hoop engaging section wherein the contact connecting leg 6' is in the form of a curve essentially that of a semi-circle.

As is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shaft section and/or the handle section are tapered smaller towards the hoop engaging section. In the example shown, the diameter of the handle section is about twice the diameter of the shaft Where it terminates into the hoop engaging section. This feature gives the guide much better balance.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment including an ofi-set part 9 extending outwardly and downwardly from the end of the shaft section. This off-set facilitates a larger angle, b, and a more gradual transition from the angle of the shaft section to the angle of leg 5. This off-set is of the order of the thickness of the end of the shaft section.

FIG. 5 illustrates the necessary modification of the guide for the left-hand operator. In this variation the hoop engaging section is on the left side of the shaft section looking in the direction of the forward movement.

In FIG. 6, letter A indicates the hoop guide positioned to drive hoop H and B representing the lever arm, F the fulcrum and G the rolling surface. Conventional guides are constructed so that in normal operation the force is directed upwardly thereby tending to lift the hoop. In the operation of the guide of this invention, the force is applied directly forward and nearly parallel to the ground or other rolling surface. The force of the drive is downwardly by means of level arm B and fulcrum F, thereby providing a more effective driving action and adding greatly to the, stability of the hoop. It is readily seen that the fulcrum changes as the hoop moves along the rolling surface and the force is transmitted through the lower portion of the hoop.

The operation of this guide stick is obvious from the above description. The guide stick is held downwardly and inclined inwardly towards the center of the operator, engaging the lower half of the roller hoop and propelling it forward directly ahead. The hoop is kept in the engaging zone defined by legs 5, 6 and 7. Contact normally is made on the inner surface of 6 while the surfaces of 5 and 7 direct the hoop back into the proper position when major deviations occur in its travel. Corrections or changes in directions of roll are instantly effected by angular changes in the direction of the shaft.

I claim:

1. A roller hoop guide comprising an elongated shaft section provided with a handle section on one end and a hoop engaging section on the opposite end, said hoop engaging section being positioned at an acute angle to said shaft section, said hoop engaging section comprising three legs, two of said legs extending substantially parallel to each other and the third leg connecting the said two legs and providing a hoop guiding and driving surface theplanes of said surface are at an acute angle to planes perpendicular to the center line of said handle section in the direction of said handle section, said acute angle is of the order of 3.

2. A roller hoop guide as defined in claim 1 in which said hoop engaging section is connected to said shaft section through an off-set mounting extending outwardly and downwardly of said shaft section.

3. A roller hoop guide as defined in claim 1 in which the guide tapers whereby it is larger in cross-section at References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/ 1926 Myslinski 46-220 9/ 1961 Walker 46220 3/1966 Sakwa 46-220 ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner 

